When I set as one of my garden goals for this winter to read up on xeriscaping, I had in mind the horticultural improvement of this modest dry patch in the side yard.
Little did I know that my job would be sending me a few months later to a place where the dry patches are really dry. Desert dry. And desert big.
This is not a place where xeriscaping or native plants or environmental stewardship has made much traction. The plants are almost exclusively imports: petunias, bougainvillea, mangroves . . . even these palm trees are indigenous to another continent. Irrigation systems are necessary to supply de-salinated water.
The solitary native plant that I encountered was this hardy soul, perhaps Lycium shawii, which was enjoyed as camel fodder.
I had hoped to bring back some photographs, plant lists, and landscaping ideas for drought-tolerant species. Perhaps even a few seed packets would find their way into my luggage.
But, no, nothing. Though I did pick up a most appropriate memento in the Amsterdam airport on the way back.
Little did I know that my job would be sending me a few months later to a place where the dry patches are really dry. Desert dry. And desert big.
This is not a place where xeriscaping or native plants or environmental stewardship has made much traction. The plants are almost exclusively imports: petunias, bougainvillea, mangroves . . . even these palm trees are indigenous to another continent. Irrigation systems are necessary to supply de-salinated water.
The solitary native plant that I encountered was this hardy soul, perhaps Lycium shawii, which was enjoyed as camel fodder.
I had hoped to bring back some photographs, plant lists, and landscaping ideas for drought-tolerant species. Perhaps even a few seed packets would find their way into my luggage.
But, no, nothing. Though I did pick up a most appropriate memento in the Amsterdam airport on the way back.
Don't look for it in the xeriscaped area of my garden this summer.
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